Tuesday, July 25, 2006

NRO: Technology, Economics, Mild Government Incentives Improve Environment

We thank National Review Online's editors for a trenchant piece on our ever improving environment. That's right: it's improving. The last three years show the lowest rate of ozone and particulate pollution in the United States since the air was first monitored in the 1960s. More cars are on the road than ever before, but emissions from cars are falling at a rate of 8% per year. The EPA predicts that in 20 years, auto emissions will be 80% lower than they are today.

The reasons for this are clear: improvements in technology make for cleaner operations. What government can do to encourage this trend is to enhance the inherent economic incentives to invest capital in cleaner technology.

What the environmental movement could do is cooperate with such moves. But it's committed to the idea that industry and business are always the problem and stringent regulations are always the solution.

We say to members of the environmentalist movement, Take a deep breath.

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